Joan Allen

For the first part of her distinguished career, Oscar-nominated actress Joan Allen struggled to make herself a household name despite delivering strong, nuanced and critically-acclaimed performances o...
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Victoria Beckham and Emma Watson win British Fashion Awards

By:
WENN.com
Dec 01, 2014

Victoria Beckham and Emma Watson were honoured for their excellent style sense at the 2014 British Fashion Awards on Monday (01Dec14). Pop star-turned-fashion designer Beckham was feted with the Best Brand prize during a ceremony at London's Coliseum venue.
The former Spice Girls star, who was escorted to the event by husband David just two days after he was involved in a car crash, was emotional as she accepted the trophy.
She said, "Wow, thank you. I am so, so proud to be British and incredibly proud to have built my brand in the UK. I want to thank my team. I love you all so much and this is for all of you."
She also had special praise for her husband and family, adding, "We've come a long way since that Spice Girls dressing room. David, you inspire me every day. You support me. You make this possible. I adore you and my children. And my parents, you love me unconditionally - and I know I am a pain in the bottom."
Harry Potter star Watson was presented with the British Style Award by One Direction singer Harry Styles, who claimed the prize last year (13).
Seeing off tough competition from the likes of Kate Moss, David Beckham, and George Clooney's new wife Amal Alamuddin, Watson thanked the British fashion industry for being "supportive of my career" and "allowing me to reinvent myself."
Poppy Delevingne joined fellow models Karlie Kloss and Joan Smalls in handing little sister Cara Delevingne the Model of the Year prize, and U.S. Vogue editor Anna Wintour was feted for her years of contributions to the fashion industry with the Outstanding Achievement award.
Among the other attendees at the star-studded event were Rihanna, Rita Ora, Anna Kendrick, Lily Allen, Suki Waterhouse, Kylie Minogue, and Nicole Scherzinger.

U.S. radio shock jock Howard Stern was hesitant to give a eulogy for late friend Joan Rivers as he was convinced he was the wrong man for the job. The America's Got Talent judge was among the many stars who attended the veteran comedienne's glamorous New York City funeral on Sunday (07Sun14), days after she died after suffering a cardiac and respiratory arrest during a routine throat operation.
During his daily radio show on SiriusXM on Monday (08Sep14), Stern admitted he wasn't sure he could deliver a proper eulogy for the beloved funnywoman.
He explained, "To be at her funeral yesterday was really probably the most remarkable service I have ever been witnessed to... I got there early because I had gotten a call from (Joan's daughter) Melissa like a day and a half before the service, asking me if I would speak. I said to her, 'Melissa you're asking the wrong guy.'
"But I said. 'I'll do it I will do anything for Joan, I'll do anything for you (Melissa).'"
With only a day to prepare, Stern sought out the help of fellow comedian Louis C.K. for advice on the speech, and said, "I was in touch with Louis C.K. and he'd written me and he said, 'You know, Joan really deserves a great sendoff because of her impact.'
"He said something very profound: 'Joan was like an aunt or a best friend who could make everything better. And even in times... after lets just say 9/11 or the country just seems to be going downhill or things just seem to be bad... she would crack a joke, and you know this is true, when she would crack a joke, you didn't feel so alone. You felt like we were all together and you felt like oh maybe things aren't so bad.'"
He continued, "Louis said probably the loneliness and the unhappiness of life - what else could ease that despair than a great comedian? That's what great comedians do. Great comedians have the ability to snap you out of this sadness, this loneliness...to set it all right again and she was really really a top pro."
Stern also admitted he shed some tears at the touching service thanks to Hugh Jackman, who honoured Rivers' memory with a rendition of Peter Allen song, Quiet Please, There's a Lady on Stage.
Stern said, "He starts singing it quietly and part of the song is clap your hands together. He made everyone get up and start clapping their hands to the song. I was so f**king moved by this guys performance. I had tears. Now, you know me. I'm a big scumbag. I don't get moved. I appreciated this guy so much. Hugh Jackman. You know f**king Wolverine."

Hugh Jackman, Whoopi Goldberg, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kelly Osbourne were among the stars who mourned the death of legendary comedienne Joan Rivers at her funeral in New York on Sunday (07Sep14). Record mogul Clive Davis, actors Matthew Broderick, Rosie O'Donnell, Alan Cumming, Kristin Chenoweth and Bernadette Peters, funnywoman Kathy Griffin, fashion designers Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera and Michael Kors, property mogul Donald Trump and newswomen Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer also turned out to pay their final respects to Rivers, who was remembered in a private ceremony at the Temple Emanu-El synagogue, where she was a member.
Hundreds of fans lined the streets outside the temple as inside, U.S. shockjock Howard Stern delivered a touching eulogy to the comedic icon, crediting her with fighting "the stereotype that women couldn't be funny".
He even managed to raise a few laughs from guests by quipping, "(Rivers was) the best friend in the world... a big sister... a crazy aunt at a bar mitzvah."
Broadway star Audra McDonald performed Nat King Cole classic Smile, before additional tributes from news anchor Deborah Norville, New York Post columnist Cindy Adams and Rivers' only child, daughter Melissa, who thanked everyone for their condolences, saying, "We are humbled."
X-Men star Hugh Jackman helped to bring the ceremony to a close, honouring Rivers' memory with a rendition of Peter Allen song, Quiet Please, There's a Lady on Stage, which features the repeated lyrics, "Put your hands together", while a band of bagpipe players performed as mourners filed out of the temple.
Rivers died on Thursday (04Sep14), a week after suffering a cardiac and respiratory arrest during a routine throat operation.
The exact cause of death is still under investigation after an initial autopsy proved inconclusive.
The 81 year old's body had been cremated on Saturday (06Sep14), ahead of Sunday's funeral service.
Reports suggest she will be laid to rest at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California, where fellow late icons Michael Jackson, Clark Gable and Walt Disney are also interred.
Rivers' publicist has asked for donations to be made to her favourite charities, meal delivery service God's Love, We Deliver, Guide Dogs for the Blind and California grief support centre Our House, in lieu of flowers.

Celebrities including Whoopi Goldberg, Johnny Depp and Hugh Jackman have paid tribute to veteran comedienne Joan Rivers following her death on Thursday (04Sep14). The legendary funnywoman, 81, died at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital after she was removed from life support following a cardiac and respiratory arrest on 28 August (14).
Her daughter Melissa announced that her mum passed away just after 1pm local time, and celebrities have been paying tribute to Rivers ever since.
Fellow comedienne and longtime pal Whoopi Goldberg took to Twitter.com to share her condolences, and wrote, "My friend Joan Rivers has passed away once again to quote Billy Crystal... There are no words. Bon Voyage Joan."
News of Rivers' death comes weeks after Goldberg also paid tribute to another close friend, Robin Williams, who died last month (Aug14).
Australian actor Jackman lauded Rivers' comedic presence and wrote, "We lost one of the true originals today. Joan Rivers. A force. You will be missed," while Depp called her "An Amazing Individual", and Mel Brooks wrote, "Joan Rivers never played it safe. She was the bravest of them all. Still at the top at the end. She will be sorely missed."
Other tributes from Zoe Saldana and British comedian Ricky Gervais hit Twitter, and rocker Ozzy Osbourne thanked the late comic for being kind to his daughter Kelly - Rivers' co-host on TV show Fashion Police. He wrote, "Not only was Joan a comic genius, she was an amazing woman. Thank you for always having Kelly’s back. You will always be a legend. RIP."
Celebrities also brought levity to the tragedy of her death, recalling catty remarks Rivers had made about them on awards show red carpets. Actress Anna Kendrick said, "Being publicly told that my dress is hideous will never feel quite as awesome. You will be truly missed", singer Demi Lovato added, "RIP Joan Rivers... You made fun of my boobies just last week and it was an HONOR," and pop star Katy Perry joked, "What's the point of wearing all these dumb costumes if Joan's not here to rip them apart? RIP Joan Rivers. You are a one of a one."
Former Charmed star Rose McGowan recalled that "Joan once said I looked like a whore," and Evan Rachel Wood shared a similar sentiment, and remembered, "She once said I looked like I needed a trip to the VD (venereal disease) clinic..." before adding, "The day I was ridiculed by Joan Rivers for the way I looked was the day I felt like i made it in Hollywood."
Girls star and creator Lena Dunham even poked fun at Rivers' self-depricating extensive plastic surgery, and quipped, "I told (comedian Marc) Maron I'd have a zinger when Joan died. But I didn't think she ever would. She felt eternal, and anyway, zingers are her territory. That being said, Joan is gone but a piece of her lives on: her nose, because it's made of polyurethane."
A plethora of comedians also shared their praise for Rivers, including Kathy Griffin, Roseanne Barr, Ellen DeGeneres, Sarah Silverman, Chris Rock, Cedric the Entertainer, Wanda Sykes, Arsenio Hall, Tim Allen and Kevin Hart, as well as celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler, Boy George, Samuel L. Jackson, Nancy Sinatra, La Toya Jackson, Martha Stewart, Naomi Campbell, Brad Paisley, Alec Baldwin, Josh Groban, Maria Shriver, Simon Pegg, William Shatner, Ariana Grande, Vanessa Williams, Julianne Moore and John Stamos.

FOX
The Emmy awards inspire more conflict, shock and outrage than possibly any other major awards show on the circuit. It makes sense; we spend so much time getting to know these characters and their struggles that we become incredibly invested in the show's success. But with so many channels, platforms, programs, stars and prestige dramas on the air right now, it’s going to be impossible to please everyone. Of course, that knowledge doesn’t stop us from waiting impatiently every year, hoping that our favorite performances from the past year will be recognized with an Emmy nomination. And every year, we end up with a new list of nominations that surprise and delight us, or send us into a spiral of rage, heartbreak and Twitter ranting. The 2014 nominations were no different, and these are the biggest shocks of the year.
The Good:
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy: Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine Despite its critical acclaim and Golden Globe wins, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is still something of an underdog in terms of ratings and public attention, so we weren’t expecting the Television Academy to take much notice of the Fox show. Which is why we were so delighted to read Braugher’s name on the list of nominees this morning for his work as the magnificently deadpan Captain Ray Holt. Brooklyn Nine-Nine might have only gotten one major nod, but it was for the single best part of the show, and for that we’re endlessly grateful. We know it might be hard to read, but we are... ecstatic.
Best Actress in a Drama: Lizzy Caplan, Masters of Sex Masters of Sex probably tops the list of brilliant shows that nobody pays enough attention to, but for all of its high points – the costumes, the dialogue, the chemistry between Masters and Johnson, the tense, quiet drama, the brilliant guest starts – much of the show’s excellence can be credited to Caplan’s performance as Virginia Johnson. It’s a complex, layered, funny, sexy, compelling role and it’s thrilling to see her work rightfully acknowledged as one of the best performances of the year.
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy: Allison Janney, Mom Mom is a complicated show. It’s ostensibly a typical Chuck Lorre comedy, with lots of inane jokes and strange plots, but it also devotes a great deal of time to the dramatic, difficult relationship between mother and daughter, both of whom are recovering addicts. It doesn’t always work, but when it does, it’s usually thanks to Janney, who transforms what could have been a stereotypical over-the-top, obnoxious character into a flawed, layered, realistic human being.
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy: Fred Armisen, Portlandia While it’s sad not to see Armisen’s co-star and co-writer Carrie Brownstein on the list of nominees as well, we’re excited to see the Television Academy finally pay attention to this weird, hilarious show and the weird, hilarious characters who inhabit it. Whether he’s learning the history of hip hop before a big concert or playing a feminist hippie who hates the customers in her shop, Armisen’s always original, funny, and just a little strange.
Best Comedy Series: Silicon Valley Another critical favorite that didn’t seem to get a lot of mainstream attention, Silicon Valley had an excellent first season, skewering the tech industry, the people who aspire to be part of it, and the people who make fun of it. Although airing on HBO automatically got the Emmys’ attention, it wasn’t the cultural phenomenon that some of its network-mates have become, and so it was good to see that a show doesn’t necessarily need A-list stars or famous directors in order to get attention.
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy: Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live This season of SNL got bogged down by an influx of new cast members, the loss of its head writer halfway through the year, and controversy over the diversity of its cast. But there was one cast member who held things together, who was consistently hilarious and able to rescue just about any sketch just by being in it, and that cast member was Kate McKinnon. From Bieber to Ellen to “Dyke and Fats” to doing it on a twin bed, McKinnon was definitely this year’s MVP, and we’re happy to see the Emmys recognize that as well.
Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie: Kristen Wiig, The Spoils of Babylon To be honest, we never expected this weird, awkward and often hilarious miniseries to even be on the TV Academy’s radar, let alone the nominations list, but Wiig’s performance as Cynthia Morehouse, who endures poverty, war, an unhappy marriage, and a forbidden romance with her adopted brother in outrageous, strange and hilarious fashion was one of the funniest things on TV this year. Not quite on the same level as Lady Anne, but we imagine it would be a little awkward to nominate a mannequin for an Emmy.
Best Supporting Actress and Guest Actress(es) in a Comedy: Kate Mulgrew, Laverne Cox, Uzo Aduba, and Natasha Lyonne, Orange is the New Black Orange Is the New Black swept the nominations this year, and while we’re happy to see it get recognized for Best Comedy and Taylor Shilling’s lead performance as Piper Chapman, it’s the supporting cast who we’re really thrilled for. Between Mulgrew’s transformative work as Red being included in the Supporting Actress category and three of the finest, funniest and most heartbreaking actresses (Aduba, Lyonne, and Cox, who is the first transgender Emmy nominee) crowding everyone else out of the Guest Actress category, don’t be surprised if Orange takes home plenty of gold on Emmy night.
The Bad:
BBC America
Tatiana Maslany Gets Snubbed… Again Apparently, playing eight distinct characters, all of whom are equally complex, interesting, and fully-realized is not enough for the Emmy voters to take notice of Maslany’s incredible performance on Orphan Black, and both she and the show were snubbed for a second year. Since the tension between Helena and Sarah or the complicated relationship between Allison and Donnie or Cosima’s fight through her debilitating illness wasn’t enough, it seems the only way that Maslany will ever a nod is if she plays every single character on True Detective Season 2.
The Emmys Don’t Care About The Americans Despite turning out some of the most compelling, interesting, thrilling drama that has aired on television in the past year, The Americans was almost completely ignored by Emmy voters, earning one nomination for Margo Martindale’s guest spot. And though we pretty much expected the show not to make the Best Drama Series cut, we’re mostly shocked that Matthew Rhys’ incredible performance this season was also completely ignored by the Academy. Clearly the Emmys have a hard time looking past some bad wigs to see the brilliance underneath.
Really, Jeff Daniels Again? Don’t get us wrong, the once and future Harry Dunne does good work on The Newsroom, but it’s nothing special, especially compared to both what his fellow Best Actor in a Drama nominees turned out this year, and the performances of so many other actors who didn’t make the cut. But considering how much the Emmys seem to love him, we think Bryan Cranston and Matthew McConaughey might want to hold off on writing their acceptance speeches.
Ricky Gervais Gets Nominated For… Derek? We loved Gervais’ arrogant, deluded David Brent on The Office. We’re still laughing about his performance as the rude, frustrated and sometimes desperate Andy Millman on Extras, and we’d watch him bicker with Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington all day. However, we weren’t as crazy about his work on Derek, the saccharine, gentle-hearted sitcom where he plays the saccharine, gentle-hearted nursing home caretaker Derek, so we’re surprised to see just how vastly the Television Academy’s opinion about the show differed from ours. Still, at least we know we’re guaranteed a hell of a show if he actually wins.
Downton Abbey Keeps Racking Up the Nominations We get it: Maggie Smith is an international treasure. That doesn’t mean that the Emmys have to nominate her every single year, without fail. And just because Downton Abbey is a British period piece, that doesn’t mean it’s better than any number of excellent dramas who continue to be overlooked just because everyone on the show speaks with a British accent. It’s okay not to nominate them, Emmys. Everyone will still think you’re smart and worldly, we promise.
The Wrong People from Shameless Get Nominated, as Per Usual Here’s the good news: Shameless finally got more than one nomination! The bad news, though, is that they went to the actors with the most name recognition – William H. Macy, who is up for Best Actor in a Comedy and Joan Cusack, whose Guest Actress hot streak continues – rather than the ones who carried the show this year – Emmy Rossum, Jeremy Allen White and Noel Fisher, to name just a few. But, hey, it seems like that category switch actually paid off, even if it means nominating the actor whose character was in a coma over the ones who were struggling with jail time, balancing college and caring for his family and coming out and looking after his bipolar boyfriend.
Somehow, House of Cards Got 13 Nominations There are only two possible explanations: either the Emmy voters thought that, like Orange Is the New Black, they were voting based on the first season of the show, or they didn’t actually watch the new season of House of Cards, and they decided to throw a bunch of nominations its way to cover up that fact, since it’s an “important, prestige” drama.
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Showtime
The Shameless Season 3 finale left Season 4 with a lot of work to do. The end of the previous year read like a potential series finale: Lip was accepted into MIT, Fiona was beginning to move on from Jimmy/Steve with her first stable job (and boyfriend/boss) at World Wide Cup, all as Frank looked headed towards the great beyond with his liver failure diagnosis. Heck, even Sheila was left by her daughter and boyfriend/daughter's husband, only to start a Mary Kay-style sex toy business.
Suffice it to say, in Shameless terms, things were tied up about as neatly as we could hope for. But if Season 3's finale served to pull together a lot of long-running plotlines, Season 4 knotted them all together worse than we could ever imagine. And it's those exceptionally hard-to-untangle knots that made up Shameless' best season to date.
Season 4 redefined "low" for most of the characters – we're certain that Frank will look back on his pint of non-alcoholic beer with a shudder. But in all seriousness, many of the characters really did fall farther down the rabbit hole than we've ever seen them. The ever-cocky Lip got knocked down a peg, but this time it wasn't by mean girl Karen Jackson – no, it was the University of Chicago that caused him to really work for the first time and showed him just how much he was capable of juggling.
Fiona hit her low point when Liam nearly died of an overdose on her watch, then continued to get deeper and deeper as she went from jail to parole to jail and, finally to parole once more.
And Frank had the darkest arc of all. And the most Sisyphean: after 12 episodes of wrestling with mortality and watching the crows circle ever closer, he finally broke through to the other side, only to celebrate with a few hearty pulls of liquor. Yes, this season certainly had its fair share of heartbreak, but by pushing these much-loved characters to their very limits (though let it be said that if there's a way to go even further, Shameless will find it) we got some of the very best storytelling on television.
We've said it before, and we won't hesitate to say it again: here's to a Season 5 that exceeds even our wildest expectations.
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Showtime
At a distance, Shameless looks like it's got all it needs to be a smash hit/critics' darling: superb acting (performed by a cast of fresh talent, with a few seasoned pros leading the way), a down-and-out underdog family, expertly written black humor, and sensitivity to delicate subjects like drug abuse (and people abuse), alcoholism, and mental health. In short, it's got the makings to sweep some major awards, in addition to being a prime watercooler topic. But is it?
Don't get us wrong, its ratings are more than respectable, and it's also critically well-received: it's just that it doesn't have that same sort of buzz that surrounds its more popular contemporaries, nor the awards that generally follow. Joan Cusack received guest star Emmy nods, and William H. Macy scored a Critics' Choice nomination, but other than that, it's shockingly under-decorated. Perhaps moving over to the comedy category can help the show, but then again, it's an increasingly dark hour of TV (though it should be mentioned that John Wells is the man who deemed his shockingly unfunny adaptation of August: Osage County a comedy).
So why isn't Shameless getting the recognition it deserves? Well, first off, there's the gross-out factor (some of my friends who are fans joke that they can't watch the show over dinner; still others claim they can smell Frank's Pigpen-esque filth through the screen) – and, on a less superficial level, there's also the fact that it can be very disturbing. In Season 2, Frank tricked a "friend" out of a desperately-needed heart transplant in hopes of inheriting her pension. In a more recent episode, Fiona's cocaine-fueled partying led to her baby brother's near death (and possible brain damage). These people are intensely flawed, to say the least. Shameless lives in the uncomfortable gray area between the feel-good aura of a show like The Mindy Project and the glamorous (by comparison, anyway) anti-heroism of shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Frank Gallagher is a character you very rarely root for, not even as he inches his way towards death.
Plus, unlike the more streamlined programs that follow careful A-story/B-story/C-story structures, it's, well, kind of mess. The threads of the story get tangled easily. Though its frenetic structure may seem untidy at first glance, it's one of the things viewers who stick with it come to love most: the frenzied, overlapping plotlines mirror and represent its characters' own hectic lifestyles.
Shameless continues to turn many of our preconceived notions about TV storytelling on their heads, even as we blaze through this "golden era" of television, where it seems every show and its brother are revolutionaries. It pushes envelopes and breaks down barriers, juggles a sprawling ensemble cast, and perhaps most importantly of all, brings heart to its heartless depiction of Chicago's South Side.
In other words? If you're not watching, you should be.
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Showtime
Long story short on this week's Shameless: Carl ransacks a liquor store for candy, Kev holds Mickey at gunpoint, then Ian holds Mandy's boyfriend at knifepoint, and Fiona "pulls a Frank." Oh, and Frank gets his kidney stolen/gets married to Sheila.
This week, the Gallagher household goes through a very familiar routine: checking hospitals, drunk tanks, and under bridges – only this time, they're looking not for Frank, but for Fiona. In her absence, the Gallaghers come to realize just what their lives would be like without their big sister; and as they all worry that she's lying dead in some gutter somewhere, they begin to regret the way they've been treating her – Lip and Debbie in particular.
Meanwhile, a misunderstanding with Sammi's drug dealer (don't worry, she's just getting pain meds for Frank, whose main refrain for the episode is "more pills"), leads to Sammi and Sheila scraping together 26 grand to buy Frank a black market liver transplant from a very shady doctor/cab driver. Unfortunately, they find all too quickly that they've been swindled. Not only did the "doctor" fail to replace Frank's liver, but he also stole one of his kidneys – leaving Frank in critical condition. Now Frank has mere hours (perhaps days) to live, so Sheila decides to do the wedding on the spot. It ends up being a bizarre combo of wedding and funeral, as each of the kids say their last words to their dad (Debbie forgives him, on the condition that he dies. If he lives, he can forget about it). And just as the wedding's sealed with a kiss, the doctors come to cart him away – turns out, his worsened condition bumped him up on the transplant list. So that's how they save Frank – my fan theory was that Fiona was going to give in and give him her kidney, but I suppose that would be far too schmaltzy for a show like Shameless.
So where was Fiona this whole time? Oh, passed out in the back of some druggies' van. I think I say this once per recap, but I'm thinking Fiona has finally hit rock bottom. After an all-night bender with the dreaded Robbie, she ends up in the middle of nowhere with some of his unnamed friends – who then proceed to leave her at a gas station. Luckily, she's able to contact Lip, and after facing the thought of truly losing her, he's finally able to forgive her. He apologizes for his behavior, reminding her just how much she has done for all of them – and after weeks of unresolved anger and contempt, they're able to reconcile, and the moment is both heartfelt and well-earned.
But, Shameless being Shameless, it's not all coming up roses: even in the midst of their reconciliation, Lip's taking her straight to the police station, and the end of the episode finds Fiona face-to-face with her probation officer. Fade to black, indeed.
Stray thoughts
* Mickey finally confronts Ian re: his possible bipolar disorder after Ian threatens Mandy's abusive boyfriend with a knife. In his eloquent words: "Are you smokin' meth?"
* Oh, and speaking of Mickey, he and Kev get into it. Mickey steals from the register, so Kev threatened him with a gun. Then Mickey threatens Kev with his brothers and some assault rifles.
* Which leads to a truly terrifying/hilarious/awful scene (Shameless™) where Kev almost accidentally takes out V and his newborn twins (yep, the twins came this episode) with a rifle.
* Though honestly, does Mickey really have to be after Kev? I'm getting tired of the Milkovich hitmen squad.
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Showtime
I predicted that last week's episode of Shameless might just be the nadir of the season, and that this week we'd get a little more lightness. Well, I was half right. We did get more lightness. this was the funniest episode of Shameless of the year – much of that was due to Mickey's seemingly endless barrage of one-liners (at one point he yells at a sugar daddy trying to solicit him and Ian, "Well, this ain't Macy's, b**ch – you ain't window shopping!"). Last week, was not, however, the nadir of the season.
This episode finds Frank very close to death, Fiona faced with the impossible task of finding employment after committing a felony, Debbie waging war on Matt's new girlfriend (she's a Gallagher, after all), Carl "popping his robbery cherry," and Liam continuing to show signs of PTSD or permanent damage. Lip – well, Lip at least seems to be doing fine – with not one, but two FWBs.
Fiona's finally out of house arrest, but she must find a job within 30 days – she starts the search out as optimistically, but soon finds that checking the "yes" box to the question, "Have you ever committed a felony?" pretty much excludes you from employment. She has a brief moment of hope when her Narcotics Anonymous group leader says she'll refer her to her boss, but then it turns out her "boss" is a pimp. After finding that pounding the pavement is an exercise in futility, she goes back to World Wide Cup, in hopes that they'll say that she was "downsized" instead of fired for disorderly conduct (so she can collect unemployment). Her former coworker seems amenable, but Mike's sister is decidedly not. She humiliates Fiona in front of the office, and brings voice to some of Fiona's worst fears: that she's not a good person, and that she ruined Mike's life. There's only so much a person could take, but I sure wish Fiona could find someone/someplace/something other than the horrendous Robbie to turn to. Alas, the end of the episode finds her at his apartment.
Meanwhile, Frank's condition is worse than ever, but damn if Sammi's not going to give him the send off he doesn't deserve. She does everything she can for him, but he refuses to admit that he's dying. He screams at her, she screams back – all she wants is for him to stick around, and all he wants is to go to the Alibi Room ("I was always happy there"). Oh, and Sheila's back too – turns out Roger Runningtree was a criminal (he was collecting Native American reparations, even though he was Mexican). Anyway, to combat her serious empty nest issues, she wants to adopt Runningtree's nieces and nephews (remember "Stinking Wind?"). Only problem is, she needs a marriage certificate to legally adopt them. So on top of Sammi desperately trying to keep him comfortable (not to mention alive), Sheila's setting up wedding plans ASAP – she needs to marry him before the funeral. After much hullabaloo, Sammi's finally able to please Frank: by bringing the Alibi Room to him. The look on his face; the mix of joy, gratitude to Sammi, and wistfulness as he sits at his makeshift bar with his non-alcoholic beer and all of his drinking buddies is priceless. It's one of those moments the show does so well – in a show where every character misbehaves so much, there are these pockets of humanity at its sweetest.
Stray Observations
* The episode derives its title from Carl's new friend from detention, Bonnie. Yes, Carl has managed to find a mate even more psychopathic than himself – she pulls a Heathers on him and convinces him to rob a convenience store with a "fake" gun. Hey, maybe Carl can be the new Gallagher clan breadwinner!
* At this point, we're actually spending more time with Mickey than we are with Ian (which is fine by me, as Noel Fisher's a much more interesting actor than Cameron Monaghan).
* Carl: "How can you tell when you're in love with someone?" / Debbie: "When you want to rip someone's heart out and stomp on it until it's soup."
* Debbie engages in all-out war with Matt's new girlfriend – she makes threatening phone calls and leaves a snake in her car. Matt's new girlfriend is not to be messed with, however – she threatens Debbie with a metal baseball bat. Game, set, match.
* Lip's "arrangement" with Amanda (formerly his roommate's girlfriend) seems promising – the schedule she makes for him (in five minute increments, with "BJ breaks") and so-called "backdoor only" virginity are the perfect level of crazy for a show like Shameless.
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Frank Sinatra's former assistant Paul Colby has died at the age of 96. Colby, who passed away on Thursday (13Feb14), began his career as a song promoter for several music artists, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Sinatra, before becoming the My Way crooner's personal assistant.
In 1950, he stepped away from the music industry to open an interior design business, which boasted Tony Bennett and Miles Davis as clients.
He returned to the scene in 1965 as the manager of New York's The Bitter End club, which featured performances from Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Woody Allen and Billy Crystal. He purchased the venue in 1974, according to DNAinfo.com.
A message on the club's Facebook.com page, reads, "It is with a heavy heart The Bitter End would like to announce the loss of our colonel, Paul Colby, who passed away last night at the age of 96.
"In his 70 plus years in the business, Paul has touched the hearts of countless musicians and patrons and helped to launch many great careers in the music industry."
Colby's death comes a month after Sinatra's entertainment lawyer Donald Engel died at the age of 84 from complications of leukaemia.

Portrayed Jeff Bridges' wife in Coppola's "Tucker: The Man and His Dream"

Essayed the role of Sarah Brady (wife of James Brady) in HBO's "Without Warning: The James Brady Story" co-starring Beau Bridges

Reprised her role as Pamela Landy in "The Bourne Ultimatum" starring Matt Damon

Played mother of young chess prodigy (and Joe Mantegna's wife) in "Searching for Bobby Fischer"

TV debut in miniseries, "Evergreen" (NBC); her character aged from a teenager to a 50-year-old

Played yet another repressed housewife who blossoms in the satirical "Pleasantville"; first film with Jeff Daniels; played sitcom mother whose "son" was portrayed by Tobey Maguire

Starred with Sam Elliott in "Off the Map" directed by Campbell Scott

Earned second Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance as Daniel Day-Lewis' severe wife in "The Crucible"

Was Emily Lloyd's mother in Norman Jewison's "In Country"

Summary

For the first part of her distinguished career, Oscar-nominated actress Joan Allen struggled to make herself a household name despite delivering strong, nuanced and critically-acclaimed performances on stage and screen. After quietly stalking the background in films like "Manhunter" (1986), "Tucker: The Man and His Dream" (1988), and "Searching for Bobby Fischer" (1993), Allen exploded onto the scene with a stunning portrayal of former first lady Pat Nixon in Oliver Stone's "Nixon" (1995). Allen's sympathetic and complex turn opened doors to other opportunities to play strong, but emotionally withdrawn women, as in "The Crucible" (1996) and "Pleasantville" (1998). But it was her performance in "The Contender" (2000), as a U.S. senator on the verge of the vice presidency who is hammered for an alleged sex scandal, that vaulted her from supporting status to full-fledged leading lady. From there, she entered blockbuster territory with a supporting turn as a wary CIA officer in "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004), a role she reprised for sequels in 2007 and 2012, while earning more plaudits for "The Upside of Anger" (2005) and "Georgia O'Keefe" (Lifetime, 2009). With these hailed performances, Allen solidified a long, but steady climb to become one of Hollywood's most respected and talented actresses.

Name

Role

Comments

Dorothy Allen

Mother

Jeff Allen

Father

Died in 1995

David Allen

Brother

Born c. 1943

Lynn Allen

Sister

Born c. 1954

Mary Allen

Sister

Born c. 1940

Peter Friedman

Husband

Met when they appeared together in "And a Nightingale Sang" in 1983; married in 1990; appeared opposite Allen in the Broadway production of "The Heidi Chronicles" in 1988; separated in 2002

Sadie Friedman

Daughter

Born in 1994; father, Peter Friedman

Education

Name

Rochelle Township High School

Eastern Illinois University

Northern Illinois University

Notes

"You can't talk about acting. It's difficult to know what actually happens. You do the research, you try to tell the truth." - Allen quoted in The New York Times Dec. 27, 1995

"I was very shy but was desperate to meet boys, so my sister told me to be a cheerleader. I didn't make cheerleading squad, so I thought, why not try out for a play? As soon as I did I found I absolutely loved it. I could express all the emotions I felt. I could cry and scream and laugh, but in a controlled environment." - Allen to The New York Times, Dec. 27, 1995

On college friend and fellow Steppenwolf colleague John Malkovich: "John was the most exotic person I had ever met in my life. He wore purple platform shoes and had long hair. I wasn't sure what he could see in me. I remember once I was talking to some people, and he wanted to ask me to do a scene with him. He just hooked his finger in the back loop of my jeans, pulled me aside and whispered in my ear. He was really cool." - Allen to Us magazine, March 1996

"Most actors are capable of either absolute technical control, or they have the spontaneous passion of being totally physically present, like Marlon Brando. But Joan can do both." - James Schamus, co-producer and screenwriter of "The Ice Storm" quoted in The Hollywood Reporter, March 12, 1998

"I love my work, but being seen at the right parties and playing the Hollywood game has never been my thing. I've never known how to do it, and have no desire to learn." - Allen to Premiere, May 1999